Archery trail misses the bull’s-eye

PostedNov 6, 2013

The planned Archery West Trail at Lambert Park is a very, very bad idea. Here are the top reasons why: 1. This trail is dense with cholla, saguaro and palo verde high-desert (beautiful) with steep washes, rocky slopes. It seems dangerous to have people hunting lost arrows in such an area. 2. The trail is frequented by families, joggers and dog-walkers. If it is now being used by people shooting arrows - those other people will not use the trail. Letting the archer use this trail makes it exclusionary to them. 3. The archery people already have a large range area and an east trail. Giving them another trail does not seem fair to the entire Oro Valley community - of whom only a very, very small percent do archery. What percent of the park will now be devoted to archery? (10-20-more?) 4. The entrance to the west trail (there are two) used by the archery people requires them to cross the main entrance road - this can be a busy road and I notice people tend to drive faster than they should (another hazard). 5. There are many rattlesnakes and scorpions in this area. Is the town prepared for people filling claims that they were bitten while picking up their fallen arrows or sliding down the embankments? 6. There are several large birds of prey and a large owl that frequent the area. They rely on finding small critters to eat. Having the archery people going off the paths will disturb the wildlife, which many other people enjoy. 7. Several houses in the community of Copper Creek are within shouting distance; their back yards are visible from this trail. I suspect children often play in the area behind those houses - all within shooting distance of a stray arrow. 8. The archery craze is hot now, because of the “Hunger Games”...but what about in a few years when the fad has passed and the targets are now in disrepair - who will be responsible for maintaining them in our harsh desert climate. 9. What about money to create a dog park area? It seems to me that the people with dogs in Oro Valley have been waiting for this for many years. This needs to be reconsidered immediately!